Mushrooms, Splinters, and Thorns

Dance of the Minuscule and Sparks (Prose)

Dance of the Minuscule

Once in a while.
in a dream of this earth,
I see myself as an ant
or maybe a moth,
just a tiny wave of life
lured by the aroma of devotion,
adept at experiencing one flame,
with an all-pervading joy
through joys of many.
And my dance knows no void
or loneliness,
before or after
its existence


Sparks

Although the quote says: “Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward” (Job v. 7), there is a very upbeat side to sparks.

Sometimes, the tiniest thing can spark a huge life changing event, just as a spark can change into a fire: a fire that purifies, a fire that kindles perfectly positive things.

Did you ever notice how a spark trembles? The spark trembles not out of fear but out of joy for its momentary life, and in hope for what it may start.

By definition, a spark is a flicker, a delight, a momentary flash of light. Sparks often happen after two objects are rubbed together. The rubbing gives an electric charge to both objects. Sometimes a spark is produced by the jumping of electricity across a permanent gap. That kind of a spark is called a jump spark.

A spark can be a lover or a flash of insight that may make a person sparkle within. A spark alone is transient light, but when it catches flame, it can last forever.

A spark is a feeble germ: an inspiration, a first word in a poem, an indication of humor, a start of an idea or an interest that can kindle into action, into posterity.

If a spark can be an inspiration, where does inspiration come from? Inspiration comes during times of purity or internal silence, when the mind and the heart is purely focused in our awareness, when the intellect rubs with an outside suggestion or when the soul can delve into a universal source open to all human beings.

Even when we are far from the ultimate source, sparks are sent flying our way all the time. Those sparks are jump sparks. When such a spark hooks into the profound nature present in all of us, it draws us closer to our essential being, kindling a significance that expands beyond its boundaries, from the concrete to the abstract or, once in a while, vice versa. When that spark starts the fire, there is shift in our consciousness in order to connect to distinct and fascinating ideas or objects.

To ignore a spark is to ignore our higher nature. One moment can spark a song; one word can spark a poem; one smile can ignite a friendship; one embrace can lift a soul; one thought can start a prayer. One person can change the world.